Committed to Connecting the World
Universal Service
Fund Study
Lynne A. Dorward
ITU Consultant
13th Global Symposium for Regulators
“4th Generation regulation: driving digital
communications ahead”
Warsaw, Poland, 3-5 July 2013
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the ITU or its Membership.
Committed to Connecting the World
How Do USFs Operate?
 Designed to support/assist in the achievement of the universal
service objectives of:
 availability
 accessibility
 affordability
 Used as an incentive to encourage operators to assist
administrations in achieving their universal service goals
 Typically funded via some form of contribution mechanism from
telecommunications service providers/operators e.g.,
 separate levy on operator annual revenues
 portion of international call revenues
 apportionment/allocation of regulatory fees
 Other funding sources include:
 contributions from international agencies (e.g., World Bank, regional
development banks, etc.)
 proceeds from spectrum auctions
 directly financed through government budget allocations
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Committed to Connecting the World
Areas Addressed by the USF Study
 Global study of 69 countries in which USFs are currently in existence
or are in the final planning stages
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 existing regulatory frameworks that govern or will govern these USFs
 general success factors as they relate to successful USF management
 overview of challenges and restrictions of some existing USFs
 examination and review of best practices of the existing USFs
Examination of the extent to which digital inclusion is or is not addressed under
current USF schemes
 funding the connectivity and equipment of anchor government institutions
used as public Internet centres
 telecommunications for persons with disabilities
 subsidizing the cost of ICT access for girls, women and persons with
disabilities
 digital literacy training
A high level overview of some alternative methods being utilized to achieve
universal Broadband service
Development of a blueprint/proposed plan for the improved/enhanced
management and administration of existing funds plus development of new
funds
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Committed to Connecting the World
Overview of Funds Studied
Region
Total Number of
Funds Studied
Funds that Permit
Broadband
Number of Funds
with High Activity
Number of Funds
Moderate
with
Activity
Number of Funds
with Low Activity
Number of Inactive
Funds
The Americas
TOTAL
16
Europe and
CIS
8
16
69
4
9
2
8
27
4
2
8
3
9
26
6
2
2
1
1
12
5
0
1
4
3
13
7
3
5
0
3
18
Africa
Arab States
Asia Pacific
22
7
4
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Committed to Connecting the World
How Well Do Funds Currently Address
Enhanced USF Requirements?
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Committed to Connecting the World
Main Challenges Faced by USFs Today
Many of the challenges are due to rapid change and technology
evolution.
 Weak and/or inflexible underlying
 Weak or minimal oversight and
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legal and regulatory framework
Inability to adapt to changing
requirements and focus
Lack of correlation between the
USF levies collected and actual
universal service demand
Structural deficiencies
Poor or non–existent definition of
USF strategy and objectives
Managerial,
operational
and
capacity issues (poor or ineffective
management)
Lack of transparency, visibility and
accountability in USF reporting
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governance
Inefficient, inequitable or nontransparent project allocation
process
Failure to consider/incorporate
digital inclusion
Inability to deploy broadband
Deficiencies in or lack of underlying
infrastructure and facilities
Lack of availability of resources (or
of appropriate resources) and
knowledge
Challenging local conditions and
related security issues
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Committed to Connecting the World
Digital Inclusion
There is a growing awareness and need for digital
inclusion (not only in USFs), meaning that all
communities and targeted population groups must be
included.
 Need for persons with disabilities, women and girls, youth or
children and indigenous peoples to have affordable access to
ICT for their social and economic development
 Connectivity of anchor institutions (e.g., schools, hospitals,
post offices, libraries, etc.) is also key
 The now widespread existence of tele-centres must be
enhanced and equipped so as to:
 equipped to support persons with disabilities
 provide a safe and welcoming environment, especially for women
and the elderly
 provide digital literacy training and support
 respect the cultural heritage of the indigenous population
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Committed to Connecting the World
USF Critical Success Factors
The following are examples of critical success factors
in the USFs that are currently functioning well.
 Legal and regulatory framework
 Autonomy and independence
 Policy articulation
 Consultation with stakeholders
 Delineation of responsibilities between USF and other
government entities or external agencies
 Defined and measurable objectives
 Flexibility and neutrality in service deployment
 Fair and objective project allocation process
 Capacity building and sustainability; complementary services
 Innovation and incentives
 Visibility, transparency and accountability
 Digital inclusion responsiveness
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Committed to Connecting the World
Operational Blueprint for Success
Operational Blueprint for a Successful USF
Best Practice
Examples
Well-articulated policy with respect to how Universal Service (US) will be Malaysia
achieved and organized
Development of an appropriate and well-defined legal and regulatory Chile
framework permitting maximum flexibility
Establishment of the USF as separate, independent (autonomous) entity
Nigeria
Thailand
Pakistan
Clear definition and delineation of fund responsibilities
Uganda
Colombia
Malaysia
Pakistan
Chile
Development and clear definition of measurable overall Fund objectives which Colombia
can subsequently be tracked and monitored
High level of transparency, visibility and accountability to all stakeholders
India
Uganda
Colombia
Peru
Active participation in and input from all concerned stakeholders regarding fund Canada
objectives and administration
Guidelines and procedures for working with other funding sources
Afghanistan
Ensure that full range of sustainability elements and ancillary services are taken Bolivia
into consideration in both policy formulation and project definitions
Fair and unbiased process to allocate subsidy and /or project
Colombia
Incentives for project participants
Chile
The need for digital inclusion as part of the USF
Bulgaria
Peru
Morocco
Mongolia
Ghana
Indonesia
Nigeria
Dominican Republic
Jamaica
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Strategic Recommendations
Committed to Connecting the World
 ‘Future proof’ USFs by structuring underlying legal and regulatory
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frameworks to ensure that policies and parameters can be modified quickly
to accommodate need for new USF vision and respond to rapidly changing
and evolving priorities.
Increase transparency and accountability to improve buy-in and
commitment from stakeholders across the board.
Where funds are struggling or existing framework is in need of modification,
initiate a public consultation process and make concrete use of the feedback
to effect change.
Ensure that digital inclusion is globally accepted and implemented.
Where USF constraints currently exist, seek interim and creative workaround solutions that until changes can be made to the USF.
Consider additional models to further expand the scope and reach of the
USF whether that be PPPs, supplementary direct government funding,
contributions in kind.
Where the collected USF levies have not yet been disbursed, prepare
disbursement plans to make use of the funds as fairly and transparently as
possible.
Where the fund is constrained by the existing legal and regulatory
framework, initiate the steps to set the necessary changes in motion.
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Committed to Connecting the World
A Takeaway - Guiding Principles for USF
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